Star Ship Polaris

Okay, I'm in the final stretch now. I'm working out some of the remaining details using paintovers before I proceed to the actual modeling, just like I did with the booster engines a while back. And as long as I was at it, I thought I'd do some coloring and experiment with some textures as well. Bear in mind this is not on the actual model, it's just overlaid in Photoshop.

I might have overdone it with the nicks and scratches, but I plan to add some weathering on top of it that should make everything blend quite a bit.

If all goes well, I'm aiming to finish around the first of next month. I still have a fair amount of brute-force modeling work to complete on the sails, though, so we'll see.

My first reaction was, "Wow, it looks real." The scratches do add a great deal to making the ship look realistic.

However, on further study, I think they may be overdone. Also, I'm somewhat disappointed that the honeycomb on the landing craft heat shield is hard to see. I think the scorching (?) on the landing craft heat shield may be overdone.

What is the in-universe cause of the scratches supposed to be? In the case of the landing craft heat shield, scorching would be the cause of wear, right? But what about on the hull of the ship proper? Is it micrometeors, or what? While I wouldn't suggest getting too bogged down in mechanically simulating scratches for hyper-realism or anything like that, still I'm curious. The scratches should tell a story of some kind, and it might help to have an idea what that story it is, how they came to be there. For example, if it's chiefly micrometeors, then the scratches should tend to be aligned with the most probable direction at which the particles strike the ship, yes? Having them oriented in random directions might be incongruous with the cause. Then again, being too concerned with mechanical consistency could result in a finished model that doesn't appear realistic because it doesn't strike the right chords to the eye.

^Remember Vektor said this was all overlaid "quick and dirty" in Photoshop. When the textures are actually applied to the model the geometry won't be masked as they are on the heat shield in the image above.

I've decided the nicks and scratches are overdone and will be toning them down a bit. The "weathering" I plan to add will be a combination of interstellar dust, maneuvering thruster exhaust, and actual weather effects from the time this ship has spent on planetary surfaces, i.e. rain streaks, dirt encrustation, some slight corrosion. Not like it's been sitting in a desert bone yard for 20 years or anything like that, but some hints of ground time here and there.

Bearing in mind, of course, that I'm not actually texturing this model. Dennis and others will be doing that part. I'm just providing some visual guidelines for what I had in mind.

Dust and gravel would not leave visible nicks and scratches at all. Maybe some fading or discoloration along the forward-facing surfaces. Nicks and scratches visible from these distances are more likely to be caused by EVA pod collisions, docking mishaps, or the occasional chunk of orbital debris. That's why, after thinking it through, I've decided the nicks and scratches currently shown are excessive. They need to be minimized and concentrated in places where such wear and tear is most likely to occur, i.e. around the EVA pod hatches, the rims of the lander bays, and the edges of certain hull plates.

Well, it seems unlikely at the moment that I'm going to be finished this coming week after all. I was back in the emergency room on Thursday and my health problems seem to have taken a turn for the worse. Still don't know exactly what's going on but I have more tests scheduled in the next few days. Prayers, well wishes, good vibes or whatever else you might be willing to send my way would be much appreciated.

In the mean time, I'm considering my options on Polaris. If my situation doesn't improve in another week or so, I may wind up sending the model to Dennis as-is. I'd really like to finish it myself but I frankly have bigger things to worry about at the moment.

My first impression of this was that there is a paradigm mismatch, due to the hexagonal tiles. How much scorching would be visible, before the tiles should fall off, like the Space Shuttle's, or need to be replaced? Or, on the other hand, maybe they aren't hexagonal tiles after all, but perhaps hexagon structures in ablative shielding otherwise similar to the Apollo capsule.

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Vektor, I'm sorry to hear about your health problems. Your work here is extremely impressive, and I'm grateful that you've been open to feedback. Here's some good vibes for your recovery!

Had a much better day today. An old friend of mine happened to come over from Seattle for the holiday weekend and it really helped to take my mind off things. I think I'm also starting to get a handle on some of the stomach-related issues that I suspect are the at the root of most of these problems I've been having.

Anyway, I actually managed to get a little work done on Polaris, a couple of hours' worth at least...

I know it's not much, but I consider it a fairly major accomplishment under the circumstances.

Gonna be tied up with work-related stuff for at least the next couple of days and then more doctor appointments on Thursday and Friday, but I'll keep plugging away at it when I can.

In the mean time, I'm considering my options on Polaris. If my situation doesn't improve in another week or so, I may wind up sending the model to Dennis as-is. I'd really like to finish it myself but I frankly have bigger things to worry about at the moment.

Click to expand...

Jason, obviously put whatever you need to do to take care of yourself first. We're grateful for all the work you've done on this, and if you need to let go of it at this point the project's clearly in really good shape.